Sticks and Stones, BandAids and a Dash of Lemon
by MagCat
Summary: Whether they're pillaging, plundering or just plain old sailing, the various pirate crews find themselves getting themselves involved in adventure after adventure. Where are they heading next? Only the Grandline knows… Status: Five - Summer Tales
1. A Meeting of Personalities

**Summary:**Whether they're pillaging, plundering or just plain old sailing, the various pirate crews find themselves getting themselves involved in adventure after adventure. Where are they heading next? Only the Grandline knows…

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from "One Piece", for if I did, then I would be much richer than I am now…

**A/N:** So, I've recently (read: a month ago) gotten back into the "One Piece" universe, and damn, I've missed so much. The fandom totally sucked me in and somehow convinced me to begin writing for it, on top of my other fandoms. Therefore, I've decided to embark on a collection of short stories and prompts, though I won't be following canon exactly on some key deaths… I'm sure you can figure out what I mean. If you see anyone that's terribly out of character, let me know and I'll do my best to fix it. Also, keep in mind that updates will be irregular at best; I am in graduate school right now, so don't have much time, and have maybe 5 other stories going on simultaneously. I am a glutton for punishment like that. Otherwise, enjoy!

"…" – conversations

'…' – thoughts

**_Sticks__ and__ Stones, Band-__A__ids and a Dash of Lemon for Flavor_**

**One: _A Meeting of Personalities_**

_**Grove 22, Sabaody Archipelago, 23 November, 1524 AOP – 10:30 AM GST (Grandline Standard Time)**_

The first time he laid eyes on her, a cold stare almost as glacial as his rammed into him. It was almost as if Bepo had decided to suddenly grow a spine and mercilessly take hundreds of lives with the same grin he himself presented when up to his elbows in a friendly "examination". Damn, but if that wasn't a nice dream…

"You are?" came the voice and Trafalgar Law looked up from his position on a wooden crate conveniently placed just inside Grove 22, his nodachi nonchalantly resting next to him. Dark eyes discreetly roved over the female in front of him, taking in the dark red and black ruffled skirt, the corset-like top, the ridiculous-looking top hat and was that… yes, an umbrella. Interesting…

"…" Law's eyes smugly observed the frown that decorated the woman's face, absently filing away more information for future use: pink hair that cascaded down her back and nicely-done makeup, such as that mascara… hmm. Kid could use a pointer or two... and a, wait. Was that… yes. Yes it was.

Law smirked as he nonchalantly flipped the woman off, morbidly enjoying her eyes as they narrowed at his attitude. Therefore, his enjoyment only rose when he succeeded in spooking her when he spoke, "What a lovely tattoo."

The woman stared at the man before her hand reflexively moved across her umbrella handle, which was propped against her shoulder much as he liked to do with his nodachi, as if to touch the dark blue tattoo emblazoned on her left forearm.

"I do hope you realize," Law continued as if the sight of a ruffled young woman was commonplace, "that it is only polite for you to offer your name first." The woman's eyes narrowed as she moved her hand away from the tattoo and propped it on her waist.

"You are quite rude, do you know that?" the woman shot back her dress slightly moving to allow Law a surreptitious look at thick, black-heeled boots.

"Pardon me, but I do believe that the pot is calling the kettle black," Law drawled eyes lidded. The woman in front of him huffed and spun on her heel, umbrella spinning as well to reveal smooth shoulders, no sign of scarring or bruising, a rarity for any pirate who made his or her way to the Grandline, much less Sabaody Archipelago. A very faint sheen of freckles was, however, present on her neck, so faint that if not for Law's keen eyes, honed from numerous "friendly" examinations of patients he'd have missed them.

Spinning around suddenly the woman smiled, tilting her head to the side for a moment before giggling. Law scowled. Females were _not_ supposed to laugh at him unless he deliberately arranged for them to; his precision was off, and it annoyed him.

"You're cute," she remarked a gleam of some kind flashing through her eyes that Law blinked at, caught slightly off guard. Winking at a (slightly) stunned Law, the pink-haired woman blew a kiss at him before skipping off toward another Grove.

Law didn't move for a moment, his mind slowly coming back online. 'What the hell was that? Hmm... this situation needs further dissection for proper analysis…'

"Eh, Captain," came a timid voice and Law snapped out of his self-induced wondering and glanced backwards, a smirk with a hint of a genuine smile making its way onto his face.

"Yes Bepo?" Law's first mate wrung his clawed paws together for a moment before removing a scroll from a jumpsuit pocket, handing to his Captain.

"Message, from the Mugiwara," Bepo continued tone changing to acknowledge the hero of the Marineford War, who had, despite the odds stacked against him managed to rescue "Fire-Fist" Ace and get him to safety. Law would know; he'd somehow wound up treating not only ex-Shichibukai Jinbe but the Mugiwara Luffy and his adopted brother as well.

Law hummed as he broke the wax seal and scanned the notice, smirk widening just a bit. Snapping it shut, he placed it into his pocket and got to his feet, placing his nodachi on his right shoulder, supported with the palm of said hand.

"We've been invited to a _soirée_ before we head back to the New World," Law replied to Bepo's silent question, slightly smirking. "Dress is come as we are and we are to bring the entire crew."

"Um, Captain, did the note say why?" Bepo asked walking a few feet behind and to the left of his Captain, out of range from the nodachi in case it had to be drawn quickly.

Law nonchalantly shrugged not overly worried why. "I suppose it might be in thanks for having saved Mugiwara's life two and a half years ago." Sensing what his companion wished to ask he cut him off. "I have only saved five lives, my friend. That is all."

"Right." Bepo lapsed into silence and followed Law back to their submarine, wondering at the short, snappy reply that he'd received. 'He is never like this, unless something has upset him. I did not see anything or anyone out of the ordinary, so what could have happened?'

Leaping from the dock onto the deck of his submarine, Law whistled one, twice, then three times, effectively calling the entirety of his fifteen-person crew to attention. The stamping of feet sounded and within five minutes all fifteen crew members, excluding Law and Bepo were at attention, hands behind their back and hats slanted to cover their eyes.

"At ease," Law drawled handing his nodachi to Bepo, who obediently took it. "It has come to my attention that we have been invited to a bit of a _soirée_ two nights from now by Mugiwara-ya and his crew." Excited whispering broke out, which Law tolerated as he was still a bit off-kilter from his encounter with the pink-haired female earlier; not that he'd admit it to anyone, though.

"Captain, just why have we been invited?" Rowan, more commonly known as Penguin asked, head tilted to the side. Law smirked and shrugged.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Rowan, I have not a clue." Glancing around nonchalantly, he spotted Casquette's hand in the air and motioned for the russet-haired man to speak.

"Perhaps it is to celebrate the reuniting of Mugiwara's crew?" Casquette, real name Chiba inquired scratching his cheek absently. Law smirked but didn't respond, more than content to see if his crew was going to figure out the exact reason that Monkey D. Luffy had invited his entire crew without his having to tell them. It was more fun this way.

"Perhaps they are repaying their debt to us," Jean Bart quietly commented dark eyes slightly glowing. The former captain was leaning against a railing, arms crossed over his broad chest. The rage that had once ran throughout his body at being held a slave then fighting Bartholomew Kuma almost three years ago had dissipated, leaving behind a calm and collected man. Jean was now one of Law's powerhouses (not that the rest of the crew was weak, you understand) in terms of physical strength and, surprisingly, various karate maneuvers and schools, from Crane to plain old Tai Chi. Of course, the fact that he was a damn good navigator earned him a spot on the crew as well.

"Perhaps," Law allowed inclining his head slightly to let his crew see that Bart was on the right track. At the looks he was receiving, Law knew that his little game was up and smirked. "Fine. I suppose that I shall have to just read the message to you; lazy, the lot of you." The Heart Pirates chuckled as Law's affectionate insult made its rounds, a commonality at least once a week on board the ship.

Taking the message from his pocket he opened it and began reading:

_To Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates:_

_Heya! So, as thanks for saving me, Ace and Jinbe's lives all those months ago, and to celebrate us all surviving the first half of the Grandline and all, come join us for a party! Grove 5's the place and your entire crew's invited!_

_Oh, and bring meat… Sanji said that he'd need, and I quote, (kinda), "Shitty captain, eating all the meats… tell all those friends of yours to bring some food so that we don't starve while you and your pig of a brother eat."_

_Shishishi… so, party's in two days when the rest of us Supernovas are back on the archipelago for our first, kinda, meeting, I guess of Supernovas. See you guys then!_

_Monkey D. Luffy, Mugiwara Captain (and his nakama)_

"He's an interesting character," Jeanchuckled and a chorus of agreements met this remark.

"So, we going?" Rowan asked hands behind his head casually.

"Do we have a consensus?" Law asked knowing that it wasn't really needed, but doing it anyway. "I see. Very well, gentlemen. Two nights from now, we shall attend."

_**Grove 5, Sabaody Archipelago, 24 November, 1524 AOP – 8:00 PM GST (Grandline Standard Time)**_

As the Heart Pirates walked up to the _Thousand Sunny_, they noticed the festive look of the large vessel. Strings of lights were hung up everywhere, as were streamers and the delectable smell of food drifted down to swirl around Law and his crew. Bepo, in particular, looked enthusiastic at the thought of gourmet food.

"Captain, any way we can kidnap the cook?" Chiba asked mouth watering. Law smirked but didn't reply knowing instinctively that it'd be a huge issue and would be too much trouble, if the protests from Mugiwara and his crew'd be any indication.

"Do we have our offering?" Law asked and Jean hefted what looked like twenty pounds of beef and fish in each arm. Law knew that it probably wasn't going to be enough, not with Mugiwara, his brother, the pink-haired bulldozer Bonney and, possibly, other big eaters, but he only hoped that he would get to partake in the feast and not be on the sidelines catching food scraps.

"You here too?" came a voice and Law glanced to his left to spot Eustass Kid, the crimson-haired Supernova smirking in greeting. Law returned the smirk before gesturing to Jean and the food offering.

"But of course, Mr. Eustass. I assume you too have an offering?" Kid snorted and motioned with his head to his crewmate who looked like someone had taken him apart and sewn him together again. Said pirate was lugging what looked like a recently killed cow, though, mercifully, it had been gutted.

"Duh. No way in fuckin' hell am I going to be left starving." Law nodded in agreement and the two moved to board the boat while keeping an eye out for more of their Supernova brethren. Yet, despite their roving eyes, both Law and Kid were taken aback at the black and red blur that tackled first the North Blue captain, then his South Blue counterpart to the ground before resolving itself into Monkey D. Luffy.

"Man, am I glad to see you guys!" Luffy proclaimed, a grin a mile wide splitting his face. As both captains got to their feet, he continued not paying attention to the dangerous looks he was getting from his fellow Supernovas.

"Sanji kicked me out of the kitchen 'cause he said that he didn't want me touching the meat, and so I figured that I'd keep watch for everyone who's coming, and then I saw you guys, and hey, is that meat?" Faster than either Kid or Law thought possible, Luffy made to leap over the two pirates' heads for the food they'd brought, only to be brought down by another black blur, this one dragging the Straw-hat away a few feet.

"Man, sorry about that guys. He got away from me," Portages D. Ace apologized, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. The former Pirate King's son was looking well, and considering that Law had had to literally put his lower abdomen back together and keep his heart pumping by machine for weeks it was truly impressive. A large scar, stitched shut leaving a band of black around his lower body showed where Akin had punched him; luckily, he'd missed Ace's vital organs by inches and, like the good doctor he was Law had had several, er, _samples_ of some missing organs that had gone into repairing Portages' body.

"Doesn't he have a leash or something?" Kid demanded, scowling. He did _not_ appreciate being thrown to the ground by a flying bullet of rubber.

Ace snorted grabbing Luffy once more as he tried to go after the meat. "Don't I wish. Seems like only Nami can control him."

"You mean his navigator?" Law asked fairly interested. The orange-haired woman had personally come to thank him for taking care of Luffy and his brother and when he had subtly suggested that they get to know each other better he'd received a rather vehement negative reply. Despite that, she intrigued him.

"Yeah." Noticing the food, he motioned for the two crews to follow him and, still keeping hold of Luffy led the Heart and Kid Pirates onto the _Thousand Sunny_ where Luffy was summarily distracted by his sniper, who was motioning him over to talk about something.

"Where do you want these?" Kid asked motioning to the meat he and Law had brought. Ace directed them towards the kitchen and then trotted off upon seeing someone that he wished to talk to; Jean and Eddie (Kid's stitched up crewmate) were sent with the offerings.

"What now?" Chiba asked receiving a shrug from Rowan.

"Pardon our manners," came a voice and the two men jumped a foot in the air at the sudden materialization of Nico Robin, who smirked. "Ace should have told you where the refreshments are, but he was… distracted."

"Yeah, I see that," Kid remarked jabbing a finger over at the Logia user, who was trying to charm Boa Hancock, the Amazon Empress not paying attention in the least.

"If you'll follow me," Robin motioned and without protest (it wasn't an order, so Law didn't feel obliged to protest) the two crews followed the dark-haired woman. Out of the corner of his eye, Law caught a flash of pink and, curious, halted. Upon seeing the questioning looks of his crew, he motioned them to continue and he'd catch up to them later. Shrugging, the Heart Pirates left their captain behind (Bepo had to be told twice to go, but he did on the promise of gourmet food) and, shouldering his nodachi Law set off after the pink flash.

'Interesting that I am this intrigued by a color,' the North Blue native mused deftly dodging what looked like a pot of some kind, aimed at the sleeping Roronoa Zoro, who without even opening an eye caught it and placed it next to him, smirking when the cursing from the kitchen increased. A dark-blue blur flew by him and, with the sound of a sword being withdrawn Roronoa was on his feet and, grinning fiercely began dueling with that Marine who tended to stalk him.

After avoiding being pulled into both conversations and fights, Law found himself in the midst of a miniature forest and, not stopping to wonder how the hell Mugiwara and his crew were able to get tropical trees to grow on a wooden vessel (it seemed as if the impossible was normal for this crew) continued moving, ducking underneath a fruit-laden branch. Spotting something on the ground, he wandered over and, kneeling, picked up what looked like a stuffed animal. Turning it around, his doctor's mind was impressed with the detailed stitching and correct placement of body parts, realizing that as a miniature bear it was quite accurate, if a bit Frankenstein-inspired.

"Now, who did this lovely piece of art?" he mused to himself, tensing at hearing footsteps behind him. Before he could move, however, a chill not unlike subzero temperatures ran through him, which caused him to reflexively hold onto the doll tighter. Looking down, his eyes widened at seeing a hand poking _through_ his stomach, and then retracting. Leaping to his feet and spinning around, Law gripped his nodachi tighter, expecting to be attacked.

'I will not be paying for any damages that may occur in self-defense,' he told himself, eyes darting around to find what the hell had had the audacity to _stick a goddamn hand_ through his stomach. What he didn't expect was the same pink-haired woman from two days previous to step out from behind a tree, eyes glaring at him.

"Give him back," was the brusque demand, none of the playfulness from when they'd parted present in her voice.

"Who are you talking about, Miss?" Law responded hand still gripping his nodachi tighter. Granted, he was surrounded by god knows how many powerful pirates, and his own crew was nearby, but he would _not_ let his guard down only to regret it later.

"Kumashi." The woman moved closer, wide eyes snapping. Unfortunately for her, despite her heeled boots Law was still a few inches taller than she, which he used to his advantage.

"Excuse me?" Looking around while not taking his eyes from hers for more than a few seconds, Law continued: "There is no one else here."

"Lies." Law cocked his head to the side, honestly confused. There was no one else in the grove of trees except for himself, the pink-haired female and… oh honestly.

"This?" he held up the stuffed animal he'd found on the ground and watched with amused eyes as the toy was snatched out of his hands by the woman, who proceeded to cuddle it, whispering something to it. "A bit childish to carry around a stuffed animal at your age, don't you think?" Never let it be said that Trafalgar Law was a rude man; he merely phrased things in a manner that would not incite a female's wrath unless he deliberately desired it, in which case he had a ball.

The woman smirked and with a wave of her hand the toy seemed to suddenly grow in size, towering over Law. While admiring the skill it took to perform the piece of magic, he merely nodded in appreciation, walking around the bear and remarking sarcastically, "My, oh my, I am so scared."

All of a sudden, the bear shrunk and the female was looking at him with the same expression she'd held a few days ago. "So… Kumashi's not scary?"

"Not to me, at least." He shifted the nodachi to a more comfortable position, pausing to wonder just why he was talking to this seemingly childish woman when he was here to get free food and talk with his fellow Supernovas. "Whoever's scared of, Kumashi, right?" at the woman's nod he continued, "they're pretty much a wuss."

"So, what would you call Kumashi?" Law smirked down at the now innocent-looking woman, who was looking up at him with deep eyes that, if he listened to the voice in his head (that screamed at him half the time to exercise caution and which he blithely ignored) that was warning him that if he was not careful he'd be sucked down, down, never to return…

"Hmm… I think that I would have to say… cute." Now, Law was expecting to be insulted at calling what he had deemed some kind of weapon "cute", which was _not_ what pirates wanted to hear, or even, if it went that far, to be physically assaulted in some manner. What he was _not _expecting was the woman to genuinely smile and begin humming about something that he couldn't quite hear.

"…" For the first time in a long while, Trafalgar Law was unsure of what to say. Noticing this, the woman turned to face the North Blue pirate and smiled again.

"Horohorohoro. Thank you. No one's ever understood just how cute Kumashi is, always calling him stupid and scary, though he's anything but, 'cause if he was, then he wouldn't work for me." She smiled again and extended a hand, nails done in a dark pink with black stripes. "My name is Perona."

'She likes cute, but scary things, hmm? Interesting…' Reaching out and grasping the offered hand, Law responded, "Very well, Miss Perona. My name is Trafalgar Law. Pleasure to meet you, I presume?"

"Oh yes, very much indeed." Perona proceeded to tuck Kumashi into her belt before motioning for her new friend to follow her. "I know a shortcut to the food, if you're interested? Rubber-kun so enjoys his meat, but I am famished."

Smirking, Law followed Perona, wondering all the while why he was so interested in the color pink all of a sudden.


	2. 30 Ways to Speak

**Two: _30 Ways to Speak_**

30 Sentences for penniless1

**A/N:** Yes, I know they're not short sentences, but they fit just as well. There is some harsh language, but only in small doses. Enjoy!

1. Dugout

Scratchman Apoo laughed uproariously when he watched the seemingly invincible and stoic Capone Bege go flying ass-over-teakettle into a vendor, spilling food and drinks everywhere, having been done in by one small gopher hole.

2. Acoustic

Due to Franky's ukulele being out of tune (not supa) and Brook's violin missing a string, a miniature synthesizer allowed them their music; that is, until Nami declared it utter noise and tossed it off the ship.

3. Criminal

'_Really,'_ X. Drake snorted to himself as he darted forward and sliced a Marine's poorly-made gun into pieces out of revenge for being called a "god damn pillaging and murdering pirate", _'Criminal is such a loose term these days…'_

4. Native

Marguerite surveyed the strange gathering of humans on the shore of the beach, her attention drawn to a taller male, dark blonde hair moving slightly in the breeze with a weird headpiece more than anyone else; without realizing it, she knew that she would be more than pleased to show this male the more… "native" side of her home.

5. Gesture

Eustass Kid swore a stream of epitaphs against that damn Law, wondering how in the hell he made one smirk mean the symbolic "Fuck-me-because-I-know-you-want-to" middle finger from his home island in South Blue?

6. Leeward

"Men, move the sail two feet left, then one-and-a-half upwards," warned Basil Hawkins, casually adding, "Jameson, Fate says that there is a 90% chance of you losing your hat"; needless to say, the hat ended up drifting into the air as a stoic Hawkins silently watched.

7. Disaster

"Out of tragedy comes new life," Marco intoned as he watched Whitebeard's body fall at Marineford, switching his gaze over to the Heart Pirates' vessel and catching the bleeding Ace's glazed look as he was taken below deck, adding, "Until you rise from the ashes, my friend."

8. Poppy

Perona smiled at the flower that her secret admirer had left on the deck of the _Thousand Sunny_, knowing full well that none of her nakama (what a strange word that was…) had done it, meaning that just left… yes, it was him; the drop of dark red, crimson blood that she found in the center of the flower cinched it and told her that she was in love.

9. Hardening

Sanji silently berated himself for making such a juvenile mistake, muttering, "Shitty old geezer'd wring my neck" but, sighing, he scrapped the congealed mess into the garbage, ruminating that not even Luffy would survive eating that; he wanted a living captain after all.

10. Obey

Trafalgar Law smirked as he looked up at the man who'd _ordered_ him and his crew to vacate Grove 22 so that he and his ragtag bunch of infant pirates could dock and, humming lightly as he drew his nodachi to whet its blood thirst, the "Dark Doctor" ruminated how hard it was for people to figure out that he obeyed _no one_…

11. Surfeit

When asked by a new recruit whether or not he ever got tired of killing, "Mad Massacre" Killer looked at the greenhorn for a moment before nonchalantly connecting his scythes to his wrist guards, leaping to his feet and into an impressive set of back flips towards said recruit, scythes gleaming; needless to say, Kid was not pleased when he found out that Killer had scared away yet _another_ recruit because of his incessant need to indulge in scare-tactics.

12. Greybeard

Monkey D. Garp didn't remember when he'd first spotted a grey hair in his lovely black beard; all he did know, however, was that once his eternal rival Gol D. Roger had been executed, and he'd been stationed in Loguetown for a few months, the grey had become an epidemic…

13. Betweentimes

When asked what he does in his spare time, Law smirked and withdrew a scalpel from a jean pocket; needless to say, Perona joined him on his extracurricular activities and even managed to teach the "Dark Doctor" a thing or two about stitches…

14. Rasta

"All in agreement not to let Franky near this stuff again without Robin nearby?" Zoro growled out and was appeased when the entirety of the _Thousand Sunny_'s male crew, along with most of the younger Supernovas nodded and then covered his ears again as the cyborg began belting yet another song to some god-awful tavern tune, off-key and in some gibberish that no one knew how to translate.

15. Island

Dragon surveyed the piles of maps on his desk, taking the offered drink from his first-in-command without thought as he examined the piles of parchment, pondering, 'Now, which one of these Grandline islands would suit the Revolutionaries best as our new Promised Land? _Raftel_? _Yukiryu_? Or maybe _Drum_ in Paradise for all the snow…'

16. Whirlingly

Bonney wasn't an overly romantic kind of girl, more content to hunt down treasure and food; however, she felt herself twirling and falling when she tasted Strawhat's cook's lasagna and wondered what it would take to kidnap the man for her own _personal_ delight.

17. Hurricane

Kaya couldn't believe the stories that her recently-returned boyfriend Usopp told her about the _Sabaody Archipelago_, about the nasty weather on the Grandline; that is, until she found herself caught up in a sudden storm that not only drenched her but gave her a chance to show the dark-skinned sniper just how much she'd changed.

18. Learnt

Usopp rubbed his eyes tiredly as he watched his captain running around the _Going Merry_, having dabbled in one of his experiments and wondered when the lesson he'd taught him about not interfering with his work would stick.

19. Neophyte

Gin wondered what the hell he was doing back in the Grandline… then looked at the invitation he'd received from Luffy to join the crew, newly arrived on the News Coo and told himself that he'd brave the dangers he'd once turned away from to fulfill his dream.

20. Mothering

Nojiko wondered when she'd stopped being able to live her dreams to take care of Nami and the whole of Cocoyashi… then remembered Arlong and how he'd broken her sister's dreams; perhaps, then, it's not that bad to take care of those she loves.

21. Jumped

There were times when Boa Hancock wondered why she didn't petrify the majority of the World Government, escape and find her beloved Luffykins, but then she remembered just what and who she was protecting, and her resolve to abandon ship wavered each time.

22. Windward

Chopper felt the breeze rustling his fur and, tensing, he wondered why it felt odd; turning to look at the helm of the _Thousand Sunny_ he saw Nami yelling at Franky and throwing something to wake Zoro up so that the sails could be readjusted and felt much better.

23. Astride

Zoro won't admit it, but when Tashigi decides to be bold and both straddles him and crawls up onto his chest to press her lips to his pulse point, he finds it sensual and goddamn arousing.

24. Judicial

Tashigi wondered as she cleaned _Shigure_ just what exactly "Justice" was anymore, after watching the mess that was Marineford, the disaster that almost resulted in Portgas D. Ace's death and that almost took her life for being Commodore Smoker's Ensign and present at the wrong time and wrong place.

25. Encyclopedia

Robin smiled gently as a list of words that no one had any idea of their meaning appeared in front of her, and, picking up the piece of parchment wondered exactly which words her nakama needed to know the meaning of for today; it was nice to be needed.

26. Tropical

Ace smirked as he tilted his signature hat down further on his forehead, all the better to watch the gathering of girls in front of him tan in the bright sun of the Summer Island he'd traveled to with Luffy and his crew; recovery, of course, was the only goal of this voyage.

27. Desert

Vivi sighed in bliss as she spun around upon touching the shores of _Alabasta_, knowing that realistically a semi-arid, pseudo-wasteland was not the perfect place to live, but to her, the sand dunes and hidden villages were home.

28. Colony

In the beginning, the journey to new homes was an arduous experience, yet, the end goal of new islands and new people made it worth it; perhaps, Robin mused, that was why it felt like everywhere she and her crew stopped they created a new home.

29. Maroon

Bonney was willing to admit that this was _not _her idea of a first date: stranded on an island with the deadly ocean surrounding her… but she was more than willing to admit that the Strawhat's cook in nothing more than his boxers was a satisfying compromise for being stuck on a spit of land.

30. Banzai

No matter the celebration or reason for the party, it was a common agreement among the Supernovas, their crews, and various independent parties: Shanks was banned from providing alcohol of any kind… and that went double when Dragon's first-in-command Ivankov was in town at the same time.


	3. Backwards through Love

**Three: _Backwards through Love_**

2 by 4 Pairing Prompt for The Sacred and Profane

Pick a pairing from any series then write four drabbles, no longer than six sentences, inspired by objects around a room. You also don't have to use the same pairing for all four drabbles.

**A/N: **So, I had fun here. I chose my favorite couples for this, but am open to others if I wish to do this again. Also, sorry about this being a late update. Real life interfered. Enjoy!

XxXxXxXxXx

1. Law x Perona

"So, tell me again why there are numerous pink sticky-notes hung around my operating room?" Law asked his significant other, who merely giggled and proceeded to scribble something on yet _another _scrap of paper and press it to his chest. Somewhat amused, Law plucked the note of his chest and looked at it, yet for the life of him couldn't figure out what it said.

"I'm lost here, and you know that that's rare." Perona rolled her eyes and whispered her message into Law's ear, which not only caused his eyes to widen but his nodachi to uncharacteristically slip from his hand to the floor.

When Bepo came looking for his captain a few hours later, all he found was the nodachi and a note saying, "Do Not Disturb or I shall gleefully castrate you and place your genitalia in a jar on my desk for public display."

XxXxXxXxXx

2. Franky x Robin

Franky twirled the wrench around his finger, whistling as he tossed it back into the toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver.

"One more turn, and it's done." As the cyborg leaned down to finish his newest machine, he felt a tap on his shoulder and, turning around received a slap in his face. For a moment, he wasn't quite sure what Robin was so mad about… then it dawned on him.

"Oh shit, I forgot our anniversary!" Needless to say, he slept on the couch that night… and the next two weeks for insurance.

XxXxXxXxXx

3. Ace x Nojiko

Nojiko wasn't quite sure what had drawn her to "Fire-Fist" Ace, knowing as she did his heritage and his status as an up-and-coming Yonkou. Yet, after having traversed Reverse Mountain because of an invitation to come visit her sister, Nojiko had found Ace waiting for her at the bottom and offering her passage out to where her sister was. At first she'd refused, but after some wheedling on the man's part she'd finally agreed.

Over the time it took to get to the _Sabaody Archipelago_, Nojiko had noticed more of the man's good traits and, finally, giving in to the devil on her shoulder had kissed him, shocking the man so much that he'd almost fallen off the ship.

Licking her lips and savoring the test of orange-flavored lip gloss, she looked over at the man, who was now lounging in the sunlight and thought that maybe getting involved with a pirate wasn't as bad as she'd thought; not if his kisses continued to burn days after like the way the last one was now.

XxXxXxXxXx

4. Zoro x Nami

"I don't owe you a damn beli!"

"Yes, you do. You still owe three hundred percent interest on the loan I gave you to buy those swords in Loguetown!"

"You are such a witch, Nami, but… I guess that I can put up with you if you continue to wear those short-shorts."

*Slap* "Pervert… I guess that I can lower the debt by, hmm, ten percent… that's all you're getting, so don't even start."


	4. Traversing Dimensions

**Four: _Traversing Dimensions_**

_From Aoi24_

_The great Multiverse Challenge!_

_I'm an enormous fan of Alternative Universe settings so I thought it'd be fun to try and set a challenge._

_Rules:_

_1.) Write minimum five drabbles. 2.) The setting must have an obviously AU slant in a very overt way._

_Example:_

_Shanks as a marine. (I did this one for sure.)_

_Luffy never meets Shanks._

_Sanji as a member of Baroque works. (Wait, I definitely wrote this in another fic.)_

_Luffy as a member of the revolutionary army._

_Zoro as a demon that wandered out of hell. (kishishishishi)_

_Nami as state treasurer._

**A/N: **So, I know it's been forever since I updated, but real life took a nosedive for me and I'm still attempting to climb out. I hope that you enjoy these drabbles (defined very loosely) and please let me know what you think!

**XxXxXxXxXx**

"How much more do we have to go?" A male asked dark blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail. His teammate, a petite, copper-haired woman shifted through their night's total and snorted.

"Can't count it here; let's head back to base."

"Right." As the two got to their feet the woman stumbled, hissing in pain as she revealed her injured ankle to her companion, who gritted his teeth and mentally yelled at her. Rolling his eyes, he knelt and picked the woman up, grabbing the black duffel bag with their nightly haul in the other.

"I can walk, you know," the woman hissed voice petulant. Rolling his eyes, the man deposited the duffel in her hands and shifted her so that he was carrying her bridal style, more than prepared to get out of the rain and into dry clothes.

"Oi! In here!" came a voice and the man, recognizing it automatically turned towards it eyes narrowed behind orange-tinted goggles. "What'd you do to her?!"

"Chill, 'jiko," the woman said trying to end the oncoming fight peacefully. "It was my own fault; got cut slipping out the window." She motioned to the black duffel bag and added, "We got what we came for, though."

"Good." 'Jiko led the way underground, candles flickering in the dank, musty environment. The woman shivered and clung to her companion's jacket, and he allowed her, not minding in the least.

"Babe, over here!" came a voice and 'Jiko went over to what seemed to be a pair of tattered loveseats, a dark-haired man with crimson eyes grabbing 'jiko by the arm and pulled her – the candle revealed 'jiko to be a woman with pale cyan-blue hair and dark, almost black eyes – next to him. Looking over at the other couple, he added, "How'd it go?"

The man grunted and laid the woman down on the loveseat carefully, placing the duffel on the coffee table separating the two sofas. Flicking his goggles onto the table as well, he walked into another room for a moment and returned with a first-aid kit. He then gently moved the woman so that her slightly swollen ankle was on his lap and proceeded to bandage it, silent the entire time. The copper-haired woman rolled her eyes.

"Fine, except she hurt herself and didn't tell me," the man replied eyes narrowing at his companion. She returned the favor before sighing and motioning for the other couple to open the bag.

"I think we finally did it," the woman whispered wincing as the blonde accidentally wrapped her ankle too tightly. "The safe was full of money, and we found some expensive jewelry and candlesticks which we stole too."

"I can't believe that it's over," the cyan-haired woman whispered after a few moments of silence, a hand covering her mouth. "If only we'd gotten it earlier, we could have…"

"Nojiko, don't,"

"But, Nami,"

"Ladies. Enough," the dark-haired man stated wrapping an arm around Nojiko's shoulders. "I hate to sound like this, but what's done is done. We got the rest of the money to pay off that bastard and can now leave here."

"Yeah," the blonde grunted. "Believe me, as much as I like Cocoyashi and East Blue and have grown used to it," he paused scratching the back of his neck, "I want to get back to _Water 7_ and introduce you to my family."

"… You mean it?" the copper-haired woman asked eyes wide in shock. The blonde flushed bright red but nodded one hand fiddling with a metal necklace and something on it.

"You two are, of course, welcome," the blonde added to the couple opposite, who had been looking at the cooper-haired woman in shock, surprised that the blonde had confessed all of a sudden to liking her enough to _want_ her to travel with him back to his home, and wanting to know what her response was going to be.

"Are you sure?" the other female asked hesitatingly, not wanting to intrude.

"Yes, I'm sure. We could always use more help at Galley-La," the blonde answered absently. "Gin, come on. What's left for you here? You ran from Don Kreig and, technically speaking, can't leave without _official_ permission from the Marines whom you know are out for your ass. What's stopping you?"

The man, now identified as Gin scowled. "Well, Paulie, not all of us are scot-free to move wherever we want." Eyes narrowed but then softened as they looked at Nojiko. "Besides, and I know it's totally cliché, but I'm staying wherever 'Jiko stays."

Nojiko allowed a small smile to flitter onto her face before looking at her sister Nami, whose eyes pleaded with her to accept because, from the look in her eyes as they locked onto Paulie's oblivious face she'd fallen, hard, and would follow him to the ends of the earth… but she didn't want to leave her sister behind. "… Yeah. Sure. I'll come with you."

The blonde, Paulie, grinned widely before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a set of train tickets. Ignoring the wide looks from the other three, he threw them onto the coffee table and said, "Picked them up when Nami and I were last in Loguetown. Good for anytime, anywhere on the "Puffing Tom." Let's drop the money off at Arlong's with your last map Nami, and then get out of here ASAP."

Nami and Nojiko shared looks as the two men began discussing employment opportunities when they reached _Water 7_, and both wondered what would have happened to them if Nami had been forced to gather the money herself; or if Nojiko hadn't secretly helped her gather the money when Nami was forced to draw maps. What would have become of them if Paulie hadn't somehow made his way to Cocoyashi on a tourist boat and decided to stay and help, or if Gin hadn't been shipwrecked while running from his former commander's blatant torture. So many what-if's, but both women were just glad that the nightmare was over, for both of them.

Three days later, the fishman Arlong stared in amazement at the large gathering of gold, beli, jewelry, assorted maps and other trinkets in front of the doors to "Arlong Park", along with what appeared to be a handwritten note telling him to go to hell and never return. He smirked. 'Brat actually did it… damn. Here I was hoping to finally get my chance at her or that sister of hers…'

Meanwhile, on the "Puffing Tom," the three East Blue natives were more than amazed as the ocean sped past them, each of them wondering just how they'd escaped Cocoyashi with their lives and, in Gin's case how he'd gotten on the train in the first place (Paulie would never tell the former Kreig pirate that he'd bribed the conductor, an old friend of his, to let the man on board and keep curious people, aka the Marines, away). Paulie smirked as he watched Nami's fear and anger melt away the further from Cocoyashi they went; the smirk widened as the sun caught the glint of a ring on a chain around her neck. Settling back into his seat he smiled, looking forward to going back to _Water 7_, to Galley-La and merging his family there with the one he was bringing with him. Life was good.

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Garp snorted in amazement as Vice-Admiral Sengoku fell asleep _yet again_ in the middle of the Shichibukai meeting. Doflamingo, the boa-feather wearing bastard was poking Sengoku, a disturbed grin on his face while Lady Crocodile idly polished her hook. Mihawk was sleeping, but Garp knew that if attacked he'd cut the trespasser in half; had happened to one unlucky bastard a few months back and now all of the lower-ranking Marines were damn afraid to approach the man for fear of instant death.

Arlong, who'd replaced Jinbe because of some kind of honor duel was looking bored, idly polishing his serrated sword. The East Blue Marine watched the fishman warily for sign of attack. Boa Hancock was, as usual, combing out her black hair, making sure that it draped the floor luxuriously; apparently Arlong was interested as he kept glancing at her… or rather, the snake, which was hissing at him in irritation.

Bartholomew Kuma was sitting peacefully, watching, but Garp had a suspicion that something was off with the giant of a man. He couldn't place his finger on it, but… there was just _something_ he was missing. And finally…

The door slammed open and a beyond drunk Shanks stumbled in, as usual, tossing a bottle of beer at Mihawk, who grabbed it from the air without opening an eye. "S'ry I'm late; ran into traffic down in Impel Down."

Sengoku woke up with a gasp, or rather, Doflamingo's strings forced the man to sit up and reach for a beer, which Garp knew would end up with the Vice-Admiral in the hospital wing because he was allergic to something in the East Blue brand.

"The hell were you doing in Impel Down?" Garp questioned dangerously, noting that Sengoku couldn't even open his mouth to take over control of the meeting. Shanks giggled falling into his seat between Mihawk and Hancock.

"Oh, ya know, this and that," the red-haired West Blue pirate slurred eyes hooded. Garp groaned wondering how the hell the individual ended up as one of the Shichibukai… oh yeah. Damn bargain…

"So, Hawky, wha's up?" Shanks asked the swordsman, who regarded his fellow Shichibukai warily while Hancock observed carefully. Doflamingo was now having Sengoku tap dance on the table, the man not even noticing because he had fallen victim to another narcoleptic attack. Arlong and Crocodile were sharing recipes for weapon polish and Kuma merely observed the chaos around him. Garp slammed his head onto the table, cursing under his breath and wondering why the hell he hadn't become a pirate like his father had wanted…

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Iceburg observed the chaos surrounding him warily, wondering how he'd ended up the head foreman of Galley-La and his idiotic half-brother Cutty "Franky" Flam the mayor… oh yeah. The deal with Tom-san that he'd look out for the blue-haired fool and keep him out of trouble. It'd taken him years after the famous shipwright's murder to convince Franky that he was _not_ to blame, that the miniature battle boats he'd been planning to build hadn't been done by him, but by the World Government. He'd just left the plans lying in the open long enough for that ass Spandam to grab. What an asshole… when Iceburg got his hands on the purple-haired freak again without a chance for him to escape, he'd pay.

Maybe that was why he'd so easily accepted Mugiwara's aid, allowing the rubber-limbed captain to somehow drag him along on the suicide mission to _Enies Lobby_ to rescue three of his crew: Nico Robin and the adopted daughters of ex-Marine and now famous bounty hunter Bellemere… and not expecting Bakanky to follow him out of a misplaced sense of needing to get revenge for Tom-san's murder and almost get himself killed in the process.

"Bakaburg!" Speak of the devil… "So… what do you think?"

"About what?"

"The plans for _Thousand Dreams, _of course!" The cyan-haired mayor was still a shipwright at heart, which pleased Iceburg, because he knew that he did it in memory of Tom-san.

"Nmaa… I think with a few adjustments it'll work."

"Supaa!" Franky almost launched into his typical pose when he thought of something. "So, you okay with losing one of your shipwrights?"

"What?" Iceburg was startled; what the hell was Franky implying?

His half-brother flipped up his standard sunglasses and gestured over Iceburg's shoulder and repeated, "It's Paulie. Heard from the rumor mill that he stuck by the navigator's side after it was proved that Mugiwara and his crew didn't try to kill me (Iceburg was still pissed off about that, make no mistake, though, he did feel a bit of sympathy for Nico Robin's past and situation), saved her from "Aqua Laguna" and even spent time by her bedside while she was being treated for the burns that ass Spandam gave her." Iceburg spun around and, sure enough, Paulie, the orphan that he and Franky had jointly raised after they found him abandoned on Scrap Island was arguing with the ginger-haired navigator, his orange goggles having somehow made their way over to the woman and were now hanging around her neck, a sure sign that the blonde had fallen hard. He never allowed anyone else to touch the goggles, and for the woman whom he'd branded "shameless" on numerous occasions to now be wearing them, well, it was a sign.

Iceburg sighed pinching his nose. "Do I have a choice?"

Franky smirked and replied, "Don't think so, bro. Don't think so. So," he paused and then began again, "when's the memorial going to be for Lucci, Kaku and Kalifa?" The three had originally been thought to be CP9 agents, but had double-crossed the World Government to save Franky and Iceburg, their loyalty having indiscriminately switched sides sometime during the five years they'd masqueraded in _Water 7_ as shipwrights and a secretary respectively. Iceburg sighed.

"When Mugiwara's up and about, I suppose." Looking at his brother he smirked. "I guess I can officially collect on our bet about Kalifa and you, huh?"

"Wha- what?! No! Nothing happened!"

"Sure, and the kiss, the way you held her… none of that mattered?"

"Hell no! Bakaburg, that's not Supaa!"

"Oh, but I do think it is… Super, Bakanky. I do indeed."

**XxXxXxXxXx**

"Which pirate's next, mom?" asked a cyan-haired girl, moving her sunglasses up further on her forehead. Her ginger-haired sister next to her grinned in agreement as she polished her dagger, the cloth moving slowly against the gleaming metal. The woman to whom the question had been addressed merely smirked having just come back from the Marine Office with a duffel bag full of money a newly lit cigarette in her mouth.

"Well, girls, let's get back to our hideout then we'll check out the latest posters." Bellemere had been a Marine until she'd discovered her daughters Nojiko and Nami wondering around a port, lost, bloody and longing for a home. She took them in and rather than retire from the Marines, the two had been brought up within the rank-and-file of the organization, stationed in East Blue. However, with the death of their adopted father Genzo at the hands of corrupt Marine Axe-Hand Morgan, the trio of women had vanished off the Marines' radar and popped back up again in North Blue, killing famous pirates left and right, not hunting down up-and-coming Supernovae X. Drake (Bellemere owed the man a favor), Basil Hawkins (the man had saved Nojiko once upon a time, saying that it was not her time to die yet) and Trafalgar Law, whom had never deemed it necessary to cross their paths. Other pirates, though… that was a different story.

An hour later, the three women were gathered around the small kitchen table, looking at the respective bounty posters in front of them.

"Interesting…" Nami said pointing out Axe-Hand Morgan's poster, a new item in their collection. "Apparently, the bastard ditched the Marines after killing his son and attacking Monkey D. Garp. He's flipped and has a bounty of fifty thousand belis."

Nojiko shrugged, not overly worried. "We can take him, right mom?"

Bellemere's grin was fierce. "Oh yeah. We're heading back to East Blue, girls. For Genzo!"

"For Genzo!"

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Law wasn't quite sure how he and his crew had ended up stranded on the floating island of _Thriller Bark _or how he found himself inviting a _skeleton_ of all things to join his crew. Then, of course, to top it all off he'd run into yet _another_ pirate crew – the Strawhats – and had to team up with them to defeat the Shichibukai Gekko Moriah and get his crew's shadows back. All he knew was that not only was he fascinated by the living, breathing, _talking_ skeleton ("Yohohoho, Skull Joke!" rambled the skeleton in question) but he had found a half-breathing, pink-haired woman underneath the wreckage of some tunnel that Mugiwara's sniper and his own navigator Rowan had fought in and, ignoring Rowan's pleas to toss the "ghost girl back to hell" brought her aboard.

Just in time, too, as yet _another_ Shichibukai emerged out of nowhere: Bartholomew Kuma. Despite the aid from the former victims of Moriah and Mugiwara's mix of a crew, they were all soundly defeated and Law found himself asking Mugiwara's doctor to help sew him up. He would never ask again unless he was absolutely going to die and there was no one else because, frankly, the idea of a talking reindeer who was a doctor was both alarming and disgusting at the same time.

"Wh – where am I?" Law snapped out of his self-reflective state of mind and glanced over to the sole occupied bed in the infirmary on his ship, headed towards _Sabaody Archipelago_.

"You, my dear, are on the Heart Pirates' submarine." His storm-gray eyes observed the woman, who was holding her head in pain, subtly taking in the tears on her outfit, strategically placed _somehow_ to avoid revealing too much skin. Of course, it wouldn't be anything he hadn't seen before, but still…

"Oh, you're the captain of that really cute pirate!" the woman chirped and Law's surprise was visible on his face for a moment before it melted away. She didn't seem to notice, too busy looking for something. Having a hunch (she'd been clutching it like a lifeline when he'd found her, after all) he tossed the stitched toy bear over to her, amused when she scooped it up and hugged it.

"My dear, I am interested to know how you came into the service of the Shichibukai Gekko Moriah," Law stated after a moment, curiosity driving him to insane lengths to find out this woman's story. Usually, he did what he had to do with fixing up patients then assigned either Bepo or Chiba to alert him when they woke up. With this woman, he'd been compelled by some unknown reason to wait until she woke up, and it didn't bother him for some reason as it might have at another time.

As the woman detailed her story, Law found an unfamiliar feeling welling up in him. Could it be, no, truly? … Pity?

"I see," he said when the woman had finished speaking eyes hooded. Glancing over, he saw her create a small wisp of a ghost, which according to Rowan had the possibility of growing to humungous proportions. 'Hmm… she might come in handy in future fights, particularly in the New World. Plus,' his fingers twitched, 'for some reason I cannot imagine my crew without her… how bizarre. A self-diagnosis will be necessary later…'

"So, Miss, er, what was your name?" Law wondered how he'd missed her name earlier. The woman giggled.

"Perona!" she chirped holding out a hand. Law took the proffered hand and found himself looking into deep, dark eyes. "So, Mr. Captain, what are you going to do with me?" She blinked flirtatiously, which got a smirk from the man in question in response.

"Well, Miss Perona," the woman involuntarily shivered at the sound of her name rolling of his tongue. Law smirked. "I was wondering if you would be interested in joining my crew. I believe that we can find a use for your… talents."

Perona grinned; to anyone else it would look spooky as hell, but for the "Surgeon of Death" it looked natural. "I suppose I shall," she paused and added, "There aren't any cockroaches on board, I suppose?"

Law tilted his head in consideration before answering, "I don't believe so, but if there any, Bepo snacks on them in his spare time." Perona smiled again and nodded and, when asked by a cowed and spooked Usopp at _Sabaody Archipelago_ what she was doing there, the resulting answer caused the sniper to faint out of shock and Law to smirk. It felt good to get one up on Mugiwara's crew… and the walking skeleton that Mugiwara had wanted so badly but who had decided to join his crew instead made it even better.


	5. Summer Tales

**Five: _Summer Tales_**

**A/N:** … Sorry it's been so long since I updated; I honestly thought I had updated in June but, apparently, I'm an idiot since I only realized that no updates had been done. So sorry! Anyway, since summer is here (or, at least, the tail-end of summer) 5 prompts are presented here, some long and others short, some a bit AU and others fitting into canon somewhere, but all relating to the months of freedom of my own creation. Enjoy!

Amusement Parks

_Water 7_'s new amusement park had just opened up a few days ago and, needless to say, Franky Cuttiflam was determined to go see it. He'd just gotten done with his final exam from _Enies Lobby_'s premier university for the summer and was more than willing to spend his first day luxuriating in the massive swimming pool rumored to exist in the middle of the park, a towering collection of water slides surrounding the bastion of water. And why not? Showing off his muscles for the pretty women he was positive were going to be tanning there was goal _numero uno_ this summer.

Of course, he hadn't been expecting to be assigned to work his first day back… and his brother Iceburg had been the one to give him work! What an ass! Oh, in addition, he had smirked at him and (though not outright stating it implied) that he was going to the park instead… and was going to get _all _of the hot babes for himself!

"Ass," the cyan-haired male grunted hefting a sheet of thinly beaten metal into place on Galley-La's newest top-o'-the-line gunboat. Drawing a handful of nails from his toolbox he quickly hammered the metal in place, securing it with a set of clamps to allow the metal to fully conform to the wood.

"Is there anyone here?" echoed a voice from the intercom system that connected the front counter and storefront of Galley-La and the construction yard. Cursing as he just avoided a nail landing point down on his toe, Franky cursed and tossed the hammer back into the toolbox before throwing on a discarded Hawaiian shirt. This done, he rushed from the construction zone to the front counter, cursing his luck that Paulie was sick and unable to come in to help him out and the other workers had all scheduled the day off.

"Yeah, I'm here." Franky didn't bother looking at the customer as he dug underneath the counter for a receipt book (the computer systems were down and Paulie's god-damned girlfriend was out of town, and she was the computer expert) and a pen. Glancing up he knew that his jaw had just hit the ground. "Uh, hello."

The customer, now revealed to be a _very _attractive female smiled and leaned on the counter, head held in one hand. The smile widened when Franky's stuttered "Can I, uh, help you?" reached her ears.

"Oh yes, I am looking for an old friend of mine." The woman's deep blue eyes seemed to penetrate into Franky's mind and shut it down momentarily, only for it to fire back up as he took in the question.

"Oh, uh, well, Ice-bro's not here right now." Looking at the woman in front of him, he fiddled with his sunglasses, uncharacteristically nervous. "If ya want, I can give you directions on where to find him."

"That's quite alright," the woman replied and Franky only had seconds to wonder how and when the woman had moved closer and _why was she leaning towards him_ before she pressed her lips against his, and he practically melted into a puddle behind the counter.

"Welcome back, Franky," Nico Robin purred eyes half-lidded. "I do hope that we get to spend some _quality_ time together this summer…"

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Humidity

Kohza wasn't quite sure if he wanted to murder Mugiwara-san and his entire crew for the situation in front of him. Granted, he was not complaining that they had helped him to see how wrong he was for leading a rebellion against Nefertari Cobra and his entire government, and in hindsight, just how gullible he had been. Anxious to prove himself, anxious to save his homeland, anxious to save Vivi… he had almost become a traitor to his country!

"Kohza, are you going to stand there or come and join me?" Vivi asked looking over her shoulder at her childhood friend, not noticing (or pretending to) the faint blush across his face.

"I'll, uh, just stay here," he replied trying to discreetly back away, because damn, this was an awkward conversation and situation over all, and why was it so hot that she had to look like… well, _that?_

"Coward," Vivi taunted playing to her friend's notoriously short temper. Like a row of dominos the former rebel fell for her plan and without further urging jumped into the oasis, surfacing a moment later.

"So not a coward," he bragged eyes gleaming. Ten seconds later, he realized that he was where he had _not_ wanted to be even a minute earlier. Blushing in embarrassment, the usually forward young man sunk further beneath the cool waters, eyes averted from his friend, who pouted and swam closer to him.

"Come on. Don't tell me that you're offended by this?" Vivi proceeded to stand up and show off the new bathing suit she'd gotten while on Mugiwara's boat, which was rather… uh, revealing to say the least. Then the blue-haired princess smirked, a devious plan coming to mind. "Or, maybe, you'd like to see more?" A hand reached for a strap on her bikini, only to be tackled into the water, a loud splash disrupting the normally calm night.

"Don't!" Kohza demanded eyes shut so that he didn't see anything. After a moment, he opened his eyes and realized just how close he was to Vivi and, oh god, she looked like a goddess in the moonlight and –

His thoughts came to a screeching halt as she pressed his lips against his, tentatively at first but then demanding entrance. Giving in, Kohza moved his hands to frame her face and kissed her back, more than enjoying the sensation of kissing the gir – no, the woman he'd fallen head-over-heels for years ago.

When both took a break, Kohza noticed something floating nearby and, squinting noticed that the bikini top was floating idly in the water, which meant…

"Uh," he reached over and grabbed it, holding it out to Vivi eyes closed so as not to see anything. If word got back to anyone at the palace (read: Chaka, Pell, Carue, etc.), he'd die a gruesome death. "Here you go." Giggling, Vivi took the proffered garment and swiftly put it back on, before splashing the male and diving deeper to escape. Kohza shook his head and sighed, deciding to give chase, not wanting to leave her alone. As he did so, the question of why the humidity had gotten to the breaking point swirled in his head, which then led to the observation that, maybe, it should do so more often, if only to see Vivi like _that_… then the thought was forced out of his mind posthaste.

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Strawberry (All dishes are from www . lebecfin . com)

There _had_ to be more to this, this, _long-winded_ affection. Her bright pink hair was nice, sure, as was her appreciation of every kind of food he made (not to mention her fabulous body), and no matter the level of spiciness, bitterness, sweetness or sour taste she inhaled it almost as quickly as his captain did, and that was saying something.

"Hey, cook!" came the cry and Sanji instantly went into _mellorine_ mode, gathering five available plates, a bottle of pure, thirty-year old red wine and a plate of freshly picked strawberries and literally floated outside, his one visible eye heart-shaped.

"For you, _Mademoiselle_, the best I have here." He laid out a vast display of five star restaurant-quality dishes, which included, among other things, slow-baked halibut with cashew persillade, savoy cabbage and hibiscus tapioca and beurre rouge, Peking Duck, and, finally, a _torte aux fruits_ for dessert alongside the strawberries, which Sanji had quickly learned was one of her favorite desserts.

As Bonney began to wolf down his meal, making sounds that did strange things to his mind (and, for that matter, everywhere else in his body) Sanji wondered just why he was so utterly fascinated with her, and why this feeling differed so greatly from Nami-swan, Vivi-chan and Robin-chan.

Bonney's amethyst eyes subtly observed the Strawhats' cook, wondering not only how he ended up in such a low-class establishment (Franky suddenly felt shudders down his spine at her thoughts) but why, exactly, he cared. Granted, Bonney had been treated as a _lady_ at other establishments, but that ended when her voracious appetite took over. She ended up out on her ass, and when her crew was forced to pay for the meal Bonney sometimes wondered why she ate that thrice-damned Devil Fruit, as her appetite grew to the extent that she never felt full… then remembered the revenge she'd taken on her family's tormenters and felt slightly better about it.

"Cook, whatcha thinkin' about?" Bonney asked out of the blue, wiping her grease-stained fingers on a napkin that Sanji had placed at her seat. Sanji started and looked over at the female Supernova, mind whirling and wondering just what to say. Bonney, naturally impatient decided to nibble on a strawberry while the cook wondered what to say.

As her teeth sank into the dark red fruit, Sanji's breath caught in his throat, visible eye narrowing. As Bonney continued to suck on the fruit, red juice spurted out and hit her face, causing the woman to curse. Putting the strawberry down, Bonney's tongue flitted out and licked up the liquid; Sanji felt like he'd stopped breathing. The image in front of him was so mind-boggling and, was it just him or was it _hot_ in here?

Just then, Bonney picked up the half-eaten strawberry and continued nibbling on it, unusually gentle with it; Sanji was mesmerized. Finishing it, Bonny licked her now dark red lips and reached for another of the fruits when, without warning Sanji uncharacteristically pounced at her and slammed his lips into hers, catching the Supernova off guard. After a moment, she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around the blonde cook and bringing him closer by managing to somehow wrap her legs around his waist, which drove him to deepen the kiss.

After a moment, Sanji realized that he wasn't being a gentleman and tried to untangle himself from the pink-haired woman's fierce embrace but was halted when Bonney placed a kiss on her cheek. "You're fine, Sanji. I've been waitin' for ya to do somethin' for weeks now."

"But, Bonney-swan, I wasn't being a gentleman," Sanji protested only to be silenced once again by a bruising kiss. Determined to act like the gentleman he was and not the playboy he knew that most of the world characterized him as Sanji tried to pull away again and open his mouth only to find a strawberry blocking the action.

"Cook, shut your damn trap already!" Bonney leaned forward and nibbled on the fruit, clenched between Sanji's teeth and that was that. He was gone. Who knew that one fruit could cause so much trouble?

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Beach

Tashigi wasn't sure how in the world she had been convinced to take a day off and come to the beach. However, she just knew that Commodore Smoker had something to do with it, if the look of satisfaction that she'd caught flashing through his eyes at her demand that he cancel his order to take a vacation was any indication.

_ "Think of it as a break, Ensign," Smoker had said, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on his desk, ruining the neat stacks of paper that his secretary had recently placed there. "You've been working too hard."_

_ "Sir, are you alright?" Tashigi had demanded, not at all used to this laid-back attitude from her superior, who was just as much a workaholic as she was. For him to suggest that she needed a vacation… something had to be really, really wrong. "You've always said that vacations are for weaklings."_

_ Smoker smirked. "Times change, Ensign." Blowing out a plume of smoke from his two cigars, he continued. "Besides, it's not like I have a choice. Vice-Admiral Aokiji himself demanded that everyone get a minimum of a week's vacation each year, managing to override Sengoku." Ignoring Tashigi's gasp of shock and questions of what was wrong with the man (Smoker hadn't a clue and had decided to stay out the situation as much as possible) Smoker ended, "I could have assigned you an entire week of vacation time, but figured that you'd attempt to kill me."_

_ Tashigi smirked and nodded, oddly enough reminding Smoker of Roronoa for a moment. After a moment of silence, the woman sighed and nodded, head bowed in defeat. "Fine."_

_ "Perfect."_

Tashigi sighed as her hand clenched _Shigure_, having outright refused to leave her precious blade somewhere not under her supervision, not when there were people who would steal it and disappear. Stepping out onto the sand, she toed off her flip-flops (a prank gift from an old roommate years ago that she'd never worn) and slipped them into a tote bag that her fellow Marines had tossed at her before she'd left Headquarters that morning, packed with lunch, a paperback novel of some sort, a beach towel, sunglasses and suntan lotion. They'd told her to have fun and not to come back until sunset.

The navy-haired woman sighed as her toes sunk into the soft sand, feeling a bit more at ease. 'Maybe I needed this after all; not that I'll tell anyone. I'd never hear the end of it.'

Looking around the beach, she noticed that it was practically deserted, except for a gathering of figures further away, black shadows from a nearby dune hiding their exact shape. Shrugging, Tashigi moved closer to the ocean, making sure to stop far enough away from the surf so that _Shigure_ didn't get even a drop of salt water on her. Setting down the bag, she quickly set up her camp, slathered on the lotion clumsily (patches of white were still on her skin rather than having been rubbed in) and, placing _Shigure_ at her side picked up the novel, wrinkling her nose at the rather lewd covering.

"Great. One of _those_ books." Nevertheless, Tashigi began reading, and without realizing it her mind began to supplant images of herself and a moss-haired swordsman in place of the main characters, each image becoming clearer by the minute.

After an hour, Tashigi heard a throat clearing and, looking up saw dark eyes regarding hers curiously. Blinking owlishly, Tashigi didn't do or say anything at first; however once her mind wrapped itself around the fact that _Roronoa Zoro_ was standing in front of her, his customary three swords strapped to his waist she tensed.

"What are you doing here?" Zoro asked, er, demanded, eyes flashing. Defensive, Tashigi shot back with how Smoker had forced her to come on vacation to please some goddamn vice-admiral who didn't understand how important every minute was to reach her dream.

Zoro listened nonplussed his eyes covertly wandering away from the Marine's enraged face, catching sight of a dark green material peeking out from underneath her tee-shirt. Somehow, his mind didn't want to forget that image.

"So, you're not enjoying yourself?" Zoro asked after a moment of silence, one part of his mind screamed at him, demanding to know why he'd said that; the other half (which sounded like Kuina for some unknown reason) urged him on.

Tashigi blinked, not used to be called out on whether or not she was having a good time. "Well, I guess I am." She looked up at the Strawhats' first mate oddly, head tilted. "Why do you care?"

Zoro didn't respond, scratching his cheek awkwardly, muttering something about a "goddamn witch" and "never-ending debt" for a few moments. Finally, he looked up and said, "You, uh, want to come and sit with us?"

Tashigi's mouth opened to offer a negative retort, then it closed of its own free will and she began to think. Looking around, she noticed the beach was strangely deserted, odd for such a bright, sunny day. Looking at her self-proclaimed rival, the man looked nervous, his eye twitching every so often, fists clenched tightly around _Wadō Ichimonji, _almost as if he was anticipating a reply.

"I guess that'd be okay," Tashigi said slowly, smiling when the swordsman's tight grip on _Wadō Ichimonji _loosened. Tossing the book into the tote bag, she stood up and stretched, unknowingly causing the tee-shirt she had on over her bathing suit to ride up and expose the dark green, slimming one piece. Zoro's mind froze to a halt. Bending over to pick up her stuff, she was surprised when Zoro grabbed her bag and towel, leaving her to carry _Shigure_.

"This way," Zoro grunted turning in the opposite direction from the gathering of shadows. Rolling her eyes, Tashigi touched the man's arm and turned him around to face the group. "I knew that." Chuckling, the two sword-users walked to where the Strawhats were gathered, Tashigi silently marveling at how one day at a beach had turned into agreeing to spend time with known pirates… and how she didn't really mind it at all.

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Firefly

The miniature lightning bugs flitted around in the dusk, their luminescent lights highlighting a handful of people. The end of yet another rowdy, free-for all and yet utterly (un) dignified Pirate Summit had come, with the Pirate King, his crew, the 4 new Yonkou, their crews, the rest of the original 11 Supernovae, and a handful of other powerful pirate crews in attendance. As usual, the talks had been done quickly, particularly with the offer of Black-leg Sanji's services as a cook (apparently, rumor was that his services were also up for grabs with a certain, pink-haired female Supernova) and Pirate King Luffy's usual attempts at skipping the summit had been halted by his queen, Nami.

After the talks had concluded, Sanji and his handpicked cooks had served the best quality food in existence to the pirates – as was his specialty – and liberal amounts of alcohol had been broken out. Princess Vivi of _Alabasta_ (visiting her old nakama, and hadn't that been a shock to those Supernovae not part of Mugiwara's crew that the heir of the desert kingdom was a piratess in disguise) had begun the toast, her fiancé Kohza grimacing before doing the same, obviously wishing that he hadn't brought the most potent barrels of tequila that he could find. The last incident with this beverage was (apparently) still fresh in his mind.

As the revelry increased in pitch, the lightning bugs (ok, fine, fireflies; apparently, the name lightning bugs was only used in East Blue) came out in greater numbers, their glow adding a rather romantic-looking atmosphere to the proceedings. Most of the lower-ranked pirate crews (although, that could be anyone not on the upper-tier crews or who knew the Supernovae, Yonkou or Pirate King and those who served on them) fled the scene well before eight o'clock that evening, knowing that was when the heavy drinking began. Indeed, as soon as the imported clock from _Water 7_ tolled eight o'clock, barrels of spiced rum, _Alabastian_ tequila, sake, wine and numerous other kinds of liquid emerged out of the encroaching darkness, and calls of "banzai" broke the summer quiet (Sanji's other cooks had fled in anticipation of revelry that would most likely get them killed).

By midnight, most of the Supernovae and their crews had succumbed to the alcohol, but their captains (and first mates in the case of Roronoa and Killer) were still awake, as was the entirety of Mugiwara's crew, the division commanders of Whitebeard's Crew (now jointly led by East Blue Yonkou Portgas D. Ace and Vice-Commander of East BlueMarco the Phoenix) and, surprisingly, _Alabasta_'s princess. Her fiancé hadn't been as lucky and had succumbed after three glasses of tequila and one of warm sake.

As the fireflies flew around the smaller circle of people, clumps began to quietly break apart and find smaller glades in which to settle down and, curious, the miniature insects flew this way and that, illuminating crimson-red hair awkwardly reassuring a blonde-maned man that his, mate?, hadn't abandoned him by refusing to come, and cursing something about him having it bad. A few feet away, the Pirate King and Queen were snuggled together, his hat on her orange locks, the two of them whispering something with the occasional giggle. Bright green and navy locks mixed together as two swords masters moved from debating swords to kissing; the fireflies' quicker movement away from this grove indicated that they were nervous that they might die if caught. Dark blonde hair, almost brown was being gently stroked by bright blue, a small ring glistening in the beginnings of moonlight as she whispered words of love to the sand bandit.

Blonde and pink tresses were already beyond mingling, and were sticking together, words of endearment passing between them, clothes hanging on branches and a sheet of some kind covering them. Black and lighter blonde were swinging idly in a hammock, a tanned hand stroking not only the lighter colored hair, but a smaller form curled up in the paler set of arms. Said form snuggled further into the two bodies, seeking warmth. Bright blue, almost cyan-tinted, hair and black tresses were watching the sky; a firefly brave enough to approach found itself on the woman's finger, who murmured something before releasing it. The fireflies watched as the East Blue Yonkou and the Phoenix murmured together with the remnants of Whitebeard's family, remembering the brave man, as well as the blonde-haired leader of the Revolutionaries, top hat laid aside out of respect. Black and pink locks were sitting up against a tree, long sword resting next to the male. Low murmuring was taking place between the two, and soon a white ghost emerged from the woman's hand, impacting an unsuspecting West Blue Yonkou, who began moping and growling about how much of a failure he was, which amused the other Supernovae to no end; their laughs and guffaws broke the silence. The pink-haired woman giggled only to be halted by her counterpart's demanding kiss.

Yes, the fireflies concluded as they flew around the gathering of powerful men and women, alighting on top of a reindeer and skeleton, both of whom nodded in greeting, summers were the best times to be a firefly, for where else would one get to see a skeleton on a violin and a reindeer charting a medical diagnosis on the impact of _Alabastian_ tequila on an already inebriated skeleton?


End file.
